Fort Snelling State Park preserves a broad river-bottom landscape at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, a place long sacred to the Mdewakanton Dakota as Bdote. Closely linked to historic Fort Snelling above the bluffs, the site holds layered histories of U.S. expansion, slavery, and the Dakota War of 1862. Land taken through Zebulon Pike’s 1805 agreement led to the fort’s construction, where slavery persisted despite legal bans and enslaved women Rachel and Courtney won freedom suits. In 1862 more than 1,600 Dakota people were imprisoned here before expulsion. Created in 1962, the park now protects both natural habitat and difficult history in a heavily urban setting.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia